


Three Years

by ireneadlered



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock - Fandom
Genre: Angst, John waited for three years, John's POV, M/M, Sherlock's POV, Sherlock's return, it's just pure mindless angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-13
Updated: 2012-11-13
Packaged: 2017-11-18 14:46:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/562224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ireneadlered/pseuds/ireneadlered
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One shot where neither of them know what to say.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Years

Three years. It had been three years since he had set his foot inside 221B. He had traveled across the world. Slept under a bridge. He had gotten beaten down by some big men. He had been bleeding so heavily that there were times he wasn't sure would he make it. After three years Sherlock Holmes was finally back home. He knows that John is standing right behind him, his pain radiating from him. He can feel his eyes on his neck. Sherlock feels his heart twisting. The very same sensation he constantly carried with him for three years. It was the sheer guilt of leaving John. The fact that John thought he was dead made him feel even worse after being beaten. His observant eyes take in every detail of the flat and to they end up looking to his notes that had not been touched since his departure all those years ago. It occurs to him, for the first time, that John has not moved nor touched any of his things. It only makes things worse. He wants to say he's sorry but nothing comes out of his mouth. Nothing can make things better. Nothing can make John feel better after what Sherlock had done. Yet Sherlock stays silent. He only stares at the notes. They have not been moved for three years. 

Mycroft had told him to trek carefully. John had let him inside the flat because he had told him he needed to get some things again. Mycroft had told him to be careful because three years had been a long time and even if Sherlock didn't realise it, he had hurt John even if he meant to do no harm. But Mycroft had never told him about the pain that resided inside of Sherlock at this very moment. It was overwhelming. It was drowning him and he didn't know what to do about it. So he kept quiet as he glanced around again. 

He knew what he came here to get. And he would leave without saying a word. 

 

 

Three years. It had been three sodding years since he had watched his best friend take a leap from that building. It had left him broken. It had left him beaten down by the strong feeling of sadness. It had drowned him and it was unlikely John would ever be able to swim back up. There were days when he wasn't sure would he make it through the day. But as the soldier in him kept telling him to go on and told him to be strong, nothing, _nothing_ could prepare him for the sight that had surprised him. His first reaction was a simple word of 'no' that was lost and never said. The next was the air, disappearing from his lungs in a blink of an eye. He had dreamt about that particular moments many times. But they were soon forgotten. John had taken in every detail of him and still not believing his eyes. Letting him back to the flat to get his belongings was the logical thing to do. The fair thing. Every molecule in his body protested this, but he had no choice. They had not shared a word ever since he had returned. John stared at his back, his eyes locking into those curls. Those black curls that were always in a constant state of mess. Those black stupid curls that John found missing. His heart twisted. The very same sensation that he felt every day for three years. That very same feeling that would not leave him alone for three years. 

It doesn't bother John that he hasn't moved or touched any of Sherlock's old things. He knows what Sherlock would say. He would say it was sentiment. He would tell John it was ridiculous. John doesn't care. 

Sherlock moves around the living room while John fights back words. He doesn't want to be the first one to say anything. So he just stares Sherlock's back. Waiting. 

 

Sherlock leaves without saying a word. 

 

John doesn't stop him. 


End file.
